by Sir Arthur Grimble
I-Prelude to Exile
The speaker describes an interview at the Colonial Office in 1921. After seven years' service in the Gilbert Islands, in the course of which time he acquired four daughters who were being affected adversely by the climate, Sir Arthur was faced with the prospect of being parted from his family for six years or transporting them-at the cost of more than a year's pay-to Australia, where he could see them every three years. Before taking so weighty a decision he approached the Colonial Office to see how long his next posting in the Gilbert Islands was likely to last.
See page 3